vikram-ry123
This post is about the movie The Waiting City, I just finished watching. It is a story of a mystic- love that how an Australian couple come to an unknown land to search for a baby to adopt and finally the couple discovered how much they love each other. They surprisingly become a part of the culture, faith and the society. I am surprised to see the acting of Radha Mitchell,and Joel Edgerton, they did very well. I see Indo-English corroborated films by Mira Nair,Deepa Mehta, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Vic Sarin, Wes Anderson and so many directors but Claire McCarthy, she really did a good work. No Indian film maker can think such movie to their point of view of Indian travelers. The cinematography of the movie is not satisfactory in the sense of motion picture. It seems like the film is made for television short screen. But overall the film scored very well. I see Samrat Chakrabarti in his other films but in The Waiting City he did very well as a porter. The same story and the same film could be more breath taking by working on the cogitate. Wish all the best for the future projects.
dermaxxe
The Waiting City is a fantastic film. The story, the imagery, the music, the subtlety and depth of culture that is presented is great to see and really enjoyable. Given the films topic, it was good to see it kept a light-hearted feel and did not get too bogged down in heavy drama that most Aussie films seem too.It has left me with a good feeling, and I would recommend to people who want to see something a bit different from the norm. I know this is a bit of a rave review, but I really enjoyed it, and the rest of the audience seemed too as well. A lovely film.5 stars
markspencer_17
I saw this movie last night in Sydney as part of the Sydney Film Festival. I didn't know what I was seeing or anything about the movie. Overall unfortunately I have to say that while the best intentions were there the film just didn't work.The main problem for me was that I don't think the director really knew what kind of statement she was trying to make with the film. I was waiting for the presentation of what the film was trying to say but it never came. This is surprising considering the subject matter. The director stated at the end of the film in the Q+A that she wasn't making the film primarily about the adoption of children from other countries. But this aspect of the story was way more compelling than watching two boring main characters have lukewarm interaction. I feel the Director should have taken a stronger stance with how she felt about the subject matter she was trying to display. And my God if you are shooting a film in India just get right in there and soak it into the frames ! The beginning of the film was not helped by the music score which alluded to the film almost being presented as a comedy, especially with the choice of music score. That path soon faded away into discombobulation. While a few moments were interesting to watch it just didn't make it in the end.I thought the Joel Edgerton character was not realized well enough. Weather this is through the fault of the director or Joels direction he took the character in. Because the 2 main characters are on the screen so much of the time I really wanted to see more chemistry between them but it just wasn't there. Also the film being shot with the RED digital camera system I would have expected a bit more depth and vitality to the shot choices.Having said all of this the creators of the film were very charming during the Q+A and I think Claire will go onto make some better material. Keep going guys !
FilmRap
This is an unusual movie which combines the plight of an Australian couple trying to adopt a child with the enchantment of India. Fiona (Radha Mitchell) is a high powered attorney who comes to India with her husband Ben ( Joel Edgerton ) a low powered musician who usually has his guitar nearby. They have come to Calcutta to pick up their adopted daughter and initially have to wait several days to make contact with her. They have their own issues between the two of them but are drawn to meet their daughter and also understand the prior short life that she has had. They meet Krishna ( Samrat Chakrabarti) who is on one hand the hotel worker who is serving them in his uncle's hotel but on the other hand seems to be a symbol of the country of their new child. These are the ingredients, that pulls the viewer into a spiritual experience which goes beyond the plot of the story. Fiona and Bill undergo a transformation, which is easy to identify with. The characters appeared to have learned some important things about themselves and the viewers have had an insight into the marital relationship of this couple, the meaning of international adoption and the multifaceted nature of India. Screenwriter and director Claire McCarthy was drawn to India by her own travels there. The film that she has created is authentic, beautifully photographed with muted lighting in soft colors but penetrates below the skin of the country and the people in the story.
AD
